On 3 June 2025, First Story participants from Bradford, Manchester and Rochdale came together at Manchester Metropolitan University, to take part in our first ever Young Writers Festival North. Hosted …
Young Writers Festival
Young Writers Festival Highlights 2024
On 27 March 2024, nearly 300 First Story participants from across England came together at Downing College, University of Cambridge, to take part in our annual Young Writers Festival. It was a day …
15th birthday ‘tombola poem’
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Young Writers Festival Highlights 2023
On 30 March 2023, more than 240 First Story participants from across England came together at the University of Cambridge to take part in our annual Young Writers Festival. Held for the first time at …
Young Writers Festival 2022 highlights
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First Story Young Writers Festival 2022 – a writer’s perspective
I first attended the Young Writers Festival in Cambridge in 2019, the year before the cliché of the solitary writer became a reality for everyone, even people who aren’t writers. Not only was it my …
Young Writers Festival 2021 Highlights
First Story's Young Writers Festival is an annual celebration of writing for, and by young people. For the first time in First Story history, 2021's celebrations took place entirely online, with …
YWF19 Highlights
First Story’s Young Writers’ Festival in 2019 was yet again a packed event that saw over 330 students, more than 30 teachers, 24 volunteers, and 18 Writers-in-Residence from around the country …
Exclusive interview with Juno Dawson
Juno Dawson is a best-selling author of YA fiction, a successful journalist with bylines in publications from Glamour magazine to The Guardian, a former teacher who specialised in PSHCE and …
Imaru Lewis at YWF18
Imaru Lewis is a graduate of our intensive Writer-in-Residence programme from Highgate Wood school in London. We invited him back in 2018 to speak at First Story's Young Writers’ Festival. His …
YWF18 Highlights
In 2018 First Story's annual Young Writers’ Festival was held for the first time in partnership with the University of Cambridge. We welcomed over 330 students to the new venue, from schools across …
YWF17 Highlights
In 2017 we were excited to trial a special dual-site Young Writers' Festival. We returned to Oxford University's Lady Margaret Hall College, and also premiered at the University of Hull, as a part of …
The Young Writers’ Festival 2016 Headliners Announced!
We are hugely excited to announce that award-winning writers Naomi Alderman, Laura Dockrill, Anthony McGowan and Dave Rudden will be joining First Story at this year’s …
Patrick Ness and Sally Green to headline Young Writers’ Festival 2015
We are very excited to announce that award-winning authors Patrick Ness and Sally Green will feature as guest speakers at the First Story Young Writers’ Festival, on Wednesday 16th and Thursday …
Young Writers’ Festival 2014
What an exciting month for First Story. Last week we launched the 2014-2015 programme with our Young Writers’ Festival 2014 – two days of inspirational talks and creative-writing …
Thank you Give a Book
Huge thanks to Give a Book for donating one book for each student participating in First Story at our forty schools. We made a big push to get as many books to students in December 2013, so …
The First Story Young Writers’ Festival 2013
We are thrilled to report on our third annual Young Writers’ Festival. Taking place on Thursday 19 September at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, 700 students from First Story schools across the country …
